Gutless batting saw the Kiwis crumble

That the New Zealanders lost the First of Two Test Matches at the Galle International Stadium just before tea by 10 wickets on the third day would have been galling to them.

The New Zealanders arrived here with great hopes of raising their game, in both the limited overs and the longer version of the game.

Having lost the one-day series, one expected the visitors to come good in the Tests.

But what infolded in Galle was like falling from the frying pan to the fire. It was a gutless batting display in both innings that saw them capitulating without a semblance of a fight.

On a wicket that was tailor-made for the side batting first, and after winning the toss, what one saw from the New Zealand batsmen was a lesson in poor batting. The early batting fell to movement and then the rest of the batting just collapsed to Herath’s spin.

Finest left-arm spinner

The Kiwis boast of having one of the finest left arm spin bowlers in world cricket in Daniel Vettori, who, it must be said, has much more experience, variations and vicious spin than Rangana Herath.

In saying this, we are certainly not trying to belittle our own Herath and his wonderful work with the ball where he got the Kiwis in a “spin” as it were with his excellent bowling. The Kiwi batsmen would have faced Vettori for may be years, but surprisingly looked like novices when up against a bowler of similar style in Herath.

Vettori who was forced to miss the Sri Lankan tour, would have been probably watching the poor batting display on TV and would have been amused at the inability of his batsmen to cope with his style of bowling.

Flogging a dead horse

There is no point in flogging a dead horse. And we now move on to the New Zealand assistant bowling coach on this tour, Sri Lanka’s own champion of the past in seam and swing Chaminda Vaas.

The Kiwi management surely did right and struck gold in inviting Vaas to help their former pace gun Shane Bond in putting their seam bowlers into shape and get the best out of them.

And that Vaas had accomplished his mission was obvious going by the manner in which new ball bowlers Tim Southee and Trent Boult performed in the Test. Both bowled with great hostility— seam and swing —and knocked the stuffings of the early Lankan batting.

Sri Lanka’s left handed batting champion Kumar Sangakkara has a weakness facing the ball leaving him late. When Boult fed him with this delivery and beat him a couple of times before knocking him over, it was obvious that the hand of Vaas was at play.

Lanka on the skids

With Southee bundling out four and Boult one, and with Sri Lanka on the skids at 50 for 5, it was a pity that the Kiwis lacked a spinner of Vettori’s class who could have added agony to the Lankan batting.

In saying this we are not forgetting the fighting batting display by Mahela Jayewardene and Angelo Mathews. When they got together, Southee and Boult were at their menacing best. Using their vast experience, the twosome did a fine repair job and it was their ground record breaking stand of 156 for the 6th wicket at Galle, that took the Lankans out of the woods and to winning land.

When with Vaas’ guidance the Kiwi seam bowlers were excelling, it would have amused Vaas and made the local cricket authorities red in the face for refusing to see the potential as a bowling coach in Vaas and ignoring him.

Unjust dropping of Vaas

It must be remembered the unjust dropping of Vaas when he was still delivering for the 2011 World Cup squad put pressure on the selectors.

Realising their folly, they took him to India for the final.

They added insult to injury by benching him in the final. Had he been let loose he sure would have had the Indian batting crawling after the early Lasith Malinga blitz that had India on 31 for two with big batting guns Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar silenced.

Now that Vaas has showed his potential as a bowling coach, the cricket authorities would not be faulted if they add Vaas to their coaching staff lest some other country grabs him. It will be interesting to watch how the authorities go.

Ducks on debut

In the Test match that was concluded in Galle on Monday, there was a incident when Dimuth Karunaratne made his debut as an opener. He was presented with his cap by manager of the team Charith Senanayake.

Karunaratne did not last long and was out without scoring. It then transpired that Senanayake when he made his debut also against New Zealand as an opener in Hamilton, was out for a duck.

In the second innings with Sri Lanka chasing victory, Karunaratne scored a run-a-ball dashing unbeaten half century. Senanayake too did likewise in the second innings blasting a half century. I was there describing the action for the ‘DAILY NEWS’ and the ‘SUNDAY OBSERVER’. That was in 1991.

Buzz in the Press Box

While this drama was being enacted, the buzz in the Press Box in jest was that it was good that the batting coach of the team Marvan Atapattu did not present Karunaratne his cap because Atapattu was out in both innings without scoring on debut. It was the second innings half century from Karunaratne that went to prompt the selectors to include him in the 16-man squad to

Australia for Three Test matches. He may not play in the Tests. But it will be good experience and a learning curve for the youngster to move around with the big names in the game, experience the atmosphere and also get a feel of the cauldron.

Tendulkar poor show

The deity of Indian cricket, Sachin Tendulkar is the centre of attraction and discussion and whose future in the game is in the balance. In his 40th year and when most cricketers would have called it a day, Tendulkar is still in the game.

His legion of cricket fans in India would have liked to see him among the runs in the First Test against England which was played in Ahamedabad which ended in victory for India. He was given a rousing welcome when he walked out to bat. He sure would have been all nerves, knowing very well that his future was being discussed. He started confidently playing a lovely cover drive and seemed to be settling down for a long innings.

Sudden rush of blood

But after lofting off spinner Graeme Swann to the mid wicket boundary, a sudden rush of blood made him repeat the stroke, did not get to the pitch of it and skied for Samit Patel to gobble the catch at mid wicket. It was not a stroke that Tendulkar would have attempted if he was at peace of mind. Knowing that the world is questioning his continuity in the game would have made him lose concentration and play the loose shot he did. With no one daring to tell him or drop him, it would be interesting to watch when the great batsman who walked the cricket fields like a colossus would call it quits.

There are Three more Tests to go against England and if he gets among the runs, he could well continue. But if he continues to fail who will be the smart man who would tell him enough is enough?

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